Dogen continues:
Once you have settled your posture, regulate your breathing. Whenever a thought occurs, be aware of it; as soon as you are aware of it, it will dissipate. If you remain a while without considering objects, you will naturally feel unified. This is the essential art of sitting zen. Zen is the dharma gate of great ease and joy.
Yesterday you practiced zen for the first time. Today, you’re returning to something already a little familiar, like the dragon in the mountains and the tiger in the forest.. Simply go ahead and sit zen for fifteen minutes. Be in touch with your own body (Dogen says, “Your ears should be in line with your shoulders and your nose in line with your navel. Hold your tongue against the front of your palate and close your lips and teeth. The eyes should remain open. Breathe gently through the nose.”)
Dogen says: Sit steady and think not-thinking. How do you think not-thinking? Don’t think. Contemporary Korean Zen Master Seung Sahn says to
attain your “don’t know mind, attain mind before thinking.” But what can
not-thinking or don’t-know-mind possibly be? This is the whole point of zen:
the only way to attain it is to do it.
Remember: your form can be correct or incorrect. Your experience in meditation, however, is yours. You have a right to your own experience!
Zen is the dharma gate of ease and joy!
No comments:
Post a Comment